Chapter 134 Determining the Heir to Qiao Yu
After hearing about the Emperor’s oral decree, without a moment’s delay, the Qiao clansmen went to the Tasty Pavilion and entered with the air of masters.
Most of the people in Tasty Pavilion knew them.
Qiao Ergou said sternly, “Bajiao, Huixiang, weren’t you ferocious to us in Lin’an before?
“Now, His Majesty has said that Myriad Taste belongs to our Qiao clan. Qiao Jinniang bought this Tasty Pavilion with the money she earned from Myriad Taste, so it should also belong to us!
“If you’re smart, kneel down and call me Grandpa Ergou, and I will let you stay in Tasty Pavilion. Otherwise, leave Tasty Pavilion now!”
It was almost noon, and many customers were already here.
Bajiao ordered a newly recruited servant to notify Qiao Jinniang.
But Qiao Ergou and the others have already pushed their way into Tasty Pavilion… When Qiao Jinniang received the news and went to Tasty Pavilion, she saw that the Qiao clansmen were no longer in tatters but wore fine silk clothes.
In particular, Qiao Yun’er had a gold hairpin on her head.
It must have been bought with the money given by Qiao Ruoyun.
Seeing the Qiao clansmen greeting customers, Qiao Jinniang stepped forward and said, “His Majesty’s order is to give Myriad Taste in Lin’an to the heir to my adoptive father, who will be selected from the Qiao clan. What does Tasty Pavilion have to do with you?”
Qiao Ergou said arrogantly, “Hmph, we’ve all checked it out. It’s been almost four years since your father and mother died. In the past four years, Myriad Taste must have earned you a lot of silver taels!
“Since this Tasty Pavilion was bought with the silver taels earned from Myriad Taste, it should also belong to our Qiao clan!”
Qiao Jinniang snorted, “If Myriad Taste was handed over to you four years ago, how could it earn any money?
“His Majesty ordered Myriad Taste to be given to the heir of my adoptive father. As his adopted daughter, I have the right to choose a suitable heir for him. “First determine the heir, and then I’ll hand over the Tasty Pavilion to him!”
There were about twenty people brought by Qiao Ergou. Qiao Ergou had four daughters and one son. He certainly was reluctant to let his only son be Qiao Yu’s heir.
Hearing this, Qiao Yun’er couldn’t help but panic and said, “My father is the patriarch. It should be up to him who the heir will be.”
Qiao Jinniang said, “I have discussed this with the Crown Prince. Because my adoptive father saved the Crown Prince, His Majesty conferred him the title of Earl Lin’an. Although the title can’t be inherited, it is still a nobility title.
“So my adoptive father’s heir cannot be chosen randomly. He should be worthy of becoming an earl’s son!
“When the old patriarch was still alive, he wanted Sixth Brother to be the heir, but he had bad conduct and was not worthy of being the heir.
“Now I must choose a good heir for my adoptive father. I’ve thought about it. The Qiao clan’s men in my generation are mostly already married, so they are inappropriate to be the heir. It’s better to choose from the next generation.
“This heir should recognize Qiao Ruoyun as his mother, and his surname should be Qiao, so you can bring your children over and let me pick one from them.”
Qiao Ergou was annoyed. “Why choose from the next generation?” Qiao Jinniang said, “Because I know what kinds of people my cousins are.
“Since you forced me to hand over Myriad Taste to the clan, that’s fine, I’ll hand it over, but I should choose the heir. What do you have to say now?”
It was a pity that Qiao Ergou had only two granddaughters and no grandson.
In this case, there was no chance for him to get Myriad Taste.
Qiao Jinniang turned her eyes to the daughter-in-law of Qiao Laosi. Qiao Laosi was his father’s cousin and was relatively honest among the Qiao clansmen, but his wife was a very stingy shrew.
Back then, her adoptive mother pitied her and let her work in the restaurant, but she stole a lot of money from the restaurant.
“Fourth Aunt, I remember when I came to Chang’an, your daughter-in-law was pregnant, right? It’s been a few months. Is it a boy or a
girl?”
When Qiao Laosi’s wife heard this, she felt as if she had been hit by a pie falling from the sky. “It’s a boy. And that child is not even a month old yet, so my son and daughter-in-law are taking care of him in Lin’an!”
Qiao Jinniang smiled. “Then please write a letter back and ask them to bring the child to Chang’an. If this child can become my father’s heir, I will definitely regard him as my own nephew.”
Fourth Aunt, Liu Cuihua, folded her hands and recited Amitabha, and kept flattering Qiao Jinniang with beautiful words.
Qiao Ergou and Qiao Yun’er looked very angry. They had calculated for so long but got no benefit. How could they see this happen? Qiao Jinniang said to them all, “This heir has not yet been decided. So, if you guys come to make trouble again, I’ll sue you!”
With that said, the Qiao clansmen did not dare to stay any longer.
Walking out of Tasty Pavilion, Liu Cuihua was extremely complacent. “Buddha finally blessed our family, and such a huge pie fell from the sky.” Qiao Yun’er said, “Fourth Aunt, don’t forget who helped your grandson get Myriad Taste. You can’t forget the Qiao clan!”
“Bah, you are just a girl. The Qiao family’s properties have nothing to do with you.” Liu Cuihua snorted.
Qiao Yun’er was very annoyed.
Qiao Jinniang went to Liu Cuihua and her husband in the afternoon, and arranged for a house for them. Although the house was not big, it was much better than their house in the countryside of Lin’an.
Liu Cuihua said to Qiao Jinniang with shining eyes, “Jinniang, is this for us?” Qiao Jinniang sat in the seat of honor and said with a smile, “Yes, the foundation of Myriad Taste is in Lin’an, but Ruoyun and I are both in Chang’an. If your grandson really becomes my adoptive father’s heir, my nephew, I will definitely take good care of him.”
“So I don’t want others to covet what should belong to my nephew. My nephew is your biological grandson. I guess you don’t want your grandson’s things to be touched by others either, right?”
Of course Liu Cuihua thought so, but Qiao Laosi said, “But Brother Ergou is the new patriarch.”
Qiao Jinniang snorted. “Have you forgotten how many benefits they got from Myriad Taste?”
Liu Cuihua said, “Yeah, Qiao Laosi, do you want to give your own grandson’s property to others?”
Qiao Jinniang took a sip of the tea handed by Nuomi and said, “Not just Myriad Taste. After your grandson becomes my nephew, I’ll certainly give him a lot more benefits. I think Fourth Aunt knows whether you should listen to Qiao Ergou, the patriarch, or me, right?”
Liu Cuihua said, “Of course I’ll listen to you, Jinniang. I didn’t know you were such a kind-hearted person before. I took you wrong. I will definitely pray to the Bodhisattva and ask him to bless you!”
Qiao Jinniang put down the teacup and said, “There’s no need for this. Fourth Aunt, come, write the letter!”